Driving test, 3rd time's a charm? yeah right...

[nobby]

Did my 3rd driving test today... Did vehicle safety checks fine, manouvers fine, but failed on Hesitation...

His reasons...

1: was going down a narrow street, car infront, very tight corner to the left, we go round, and he suddenly stops...
I think wtf, and look up and see a line of cars so i think he's stopped for them, then a second later i see the cars are empty, so i then mutter "oh he's parked" instructor says "YES PLEASE CONTINUE" bearing in mind this was 5 seconds altogether, excuse my "element of surprise" but ok.

2: going towards a roundabout, I want to turn left, i see 3 cars coming in a line, http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/2891/roundabout3rdav6.jpg


I let the first pass, as i was worried he might change his mind (as someone did on my first test) and catch me out, the instructor suddenly says "YOU CAN CONTINUE PLEASE"... I'm like uhh k ... he makes it sound like i waited like 3 minutes when i was there only a bloody second...


ya so that's how i failed... kthx :(

[nellus]

Lifes a bitch Nobby

Fingers crossed for your fourth time.

[[TgR]KILLER]

Hope you get another examinator for the next test ;x

my Buddy failed like 5 times to before he got his license.. they made him fail on stupid reasons to.

Lucky i got it in 1 time. even tho i screwed up some things.

Its all bout the instructor and examinator and in what mood they are.

[terraman]

yeah i did a few tests before passing, and personally i'd rank my driving better on the 2nd try than 3rd, then 4th and 1st was probably the worst heh. totally depends on the instructor and their mood, which is bullshit.. no wonder some idiots pass and then a decent driver goes and fails :p

[Apocalypsox]

Ill be doing mine here in the states this month, but after seeing some of the shitheads that have passed that test and are on the roads around here i can't say im terribly worried :)

[nellus]

I Passed first time but honesly thought i had failed it at 2 points during the test.
1.) Stalled the car during the Emergency stop, he said it was ok as the car was under control with the handbrake on.
2.) Thought i had hit the curb while reversing round a corner, turned out it was a big pothole and drain combined, Examiner did have a good look to see what it was, i didn't know till i went back there the next day.

Rest of the test was a breeze after those 2 ncidents as i was convinced i had failed.

[Kanedax]

Ill be doing mine here in the states this month, but after seeing some of the shitheads that have passed that test and are on the roads around here i can't say im terribly worried :)

Indeed, our driving tests are easy though it varies by state, here in Florida they don't even make you do an open road test, its all on a closed course behind the DMV building. I was baked when I passed mine -.-

[dark_reaper]

Indeed, our driving tests are easy though it varies by state, here in Florida they don't even make you do an open road test, its all on a closed course behind the DMV building. I was baked when I passed mine -.-

Appartently florida has some of the worst drivers in the country, They give any idiot a license. Hell we have some of the worst pilots here too.

[nobby]

I had a friend from New York go through a red light on his test, but guess what.. passed.

I Really felt too depressed to go out yesterday...

Might treat myself to a roast dinner now

[Mr Kot]

I had a friend from New York go through a red light on his test, but guess what.. passed.So you'll be best driver in New York then ;)

USA driving authorities don't set particularly high standards and the general driving there reflects that. Our standards are amongst the highest in the world, so when you finally pass, you'll really have something to be proud of. Cold comfort for now, but you have to understand what's expected of you if you want to succeed.

From your description of events yesterday, it appears that the examiner didn't allow much time before recording a serious fault for undue hesitation. Privy as I am to driving examiners' internal guidelines, I'll refer to Annex 6 of the DT1 - "Standard Operation Procedure for examiners".


Expected outcome / competence:
The ability to drive at realistic speed appropriate to the road and traffic conditions
All hazards should be approached at a safe, controlled speed, without being over cautious or interfering with the progress of other traffic.

Assessment Criteria - (example = undue hesitation)
Driving Fault
Lack of judgement, not proceeding when it is safe and correct to do so.

Serious Fault
Repeatedly stopping and waiting when it is safe and reasonable to proceed.

Dangerous Fault
It is unlikely that undue hesitancy could become dangerous in itself unless it was felt that this created situations that encouraged other road users to put themselves at risk.

So the question here is whether you were stopping "repeatedly" or just those two occasions. Were you given any other driving faults for hesitation? Were these the worst examples of a hesitant drive or two isolated incidents? Be honest.

An early guideline given to examiners is that "The object of the test is to ensure that the candidate is well grounded in the basic principles of safe driving, and is sufficiently practised in them to be able to show, at the time of the test, that they are a competent and considerate driver and are not a source of danger to themselves or to other road users. Examiners should remember that, in most cases, candidates will be novices and will have had only limited driving experience, ... It would therefore be unreasonable to expect them to demonstrate the degree of skill and road sense of a seasoned driver."

On the face of it, it does seem like your examiner hasn't followed this guideline. To remain objective though, we need to consider what the examiner may have thought.

Getting stuck behind a line of parked cars shows inexperience, but if you were really only there a fleeting moment and took steps to rectify it, there shouldn't have been a serious fault recorded. The fact that he intervened and told you to proceed would normally justify a serious fault, so I wonder what the real time interval was. Remember that under stress, everything seems to happen so quickly.

Regarding the roundabout, it is annoying when a driver stops to allow 3 cars from ahead to proceed in a straight line. You say that you had a bad experience where someone once turned across you without warning. It's a pain, but it happens. It sounds like you need to understand the more subtle clues so that you can flow into the junction a little better.

Indicator signals cannot be trusted. Fact. People often don't use them when turning. People often use them then they're not. They get left on, forgotten, mistimed or activated by mistake. In my opinion, an indicator flash only means one thing: his bulb is working.

Look instead for approach speed, positioning and body language. Which lane were the approaching cars in? Was that lane allowing right turns? If not, you were indeed hesitant and should have shown "some" progress onto the roundabout, even if done very slowly. Were the cars slowing right down and looking at you or into your junction? If so, you were justified in pausing a moment to check. However, if they were continuing ahead at some speed, while staring straight ahead, then your hesitation was indeed "undue" which justifies a mark. Now the question of minor versus serious depends on the time interval and the obstruction to following traffic.

Although we can't turn the clock back, my advice for future junctions is this:

Approach more slowly and aim to pause a metre or so before the junction line, but keep a little "creep" going. This buys you some time to check for body language, eye contact, approach speed and position etc. while still "showing willing" and if all goes well, you won't need to stop. A smooth creep through the junction is progress, no matter how slow. Even if your judgement is slightly wrong and you "could have gone sooner", the slow creeping is better than a dead stop and will keep the cars behind you happy (they're less likely to be pissed off by the "bloody learner") and the examiner won't be embarrassed by the stillness of the car while people beep and fume.

This will only work if you have sufficient space in front of you to creep into. If you're late at stopping or you end up poking over lines, then you're bound to stop sharply and get stressed. It will also look more hesitant if your judgement is less than ideal. The moral of the story is to KEEP WELL BACK. If you get stuck behind a line of parked cars, that extra distance will allow you to steer out smoothly as well as continue the progressive creep while you debate to yourself whether they're moving or parked.

Better luck next time :)

[Mighty Max]

KILLER']Hope you get another examinator for the next test ;x

my Buddy failed like 5 times to before he got his license.. they made him fail on stupid reasons to.


Hmm, how many tries do you have?

If you fail 3 times on the practical over here you are ordered to some medical/psychological examination called "Idiot-Test" ...
Rumors are, that you receive only yellow plates when succeeding later (sorry netherlands ;) )

[Bob Saget]

i got lucky, i had my driving test while i was living in new jersey, all i had to do basically was the parrell parking, he knew i knew how to drive =\ lots of lazy fucks in nj, as long as you are paying them, you get what you want